Much effort has been devoted over many years to the problem of transporting heavy equipment or cargo from place to place. In the industrial fields, specialized trucks such as dump trucks, log trucks, etc. have been designed and manufactured to carry specific types of cargo. Industrial trucks are generally large, expensive pieces of equipment which are usually dedicated to a specific type of cargo carrying function.
In the field of personal or recreational use, including but not limited to the transport of recreational vehicles such as snowmobiles, wave runners, motorcycles, boats, etc., pickup trucks with racks or trailers are commonly used. Trailers offer the advantage of providing a separable, mobile storage cart or rack when the cargo is not being used or transported. However, trailers also have numerous disadvantages. First, a trailer usually limits significantly the overall maneuverability of the pulling vehicle. Second, a trailer increases the effective length of a vehicle, thus making the vehicle difficult to park, turn and back-up. Third, a trailer blocks the lights on the pulling vehicle. Therefore, the trailer must be provided with accessory lighting to indicate braking and turning signals. Accordingly, it is preferable to carry cargo on or above a vehicle instead of on a trailer behind the vehicle.
However, a significant problem with vehicle racks is that heavy cargo items are difficult to load and securely mount on a vehicle. Thus, many different truck loading devices have been developed. In the industrial field, trucks have been designed which include structures for pulling a container from the ground onto the bed of a truck. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,325 to Corompt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,671 to Boughton and U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,537 to Kou.
There are several characteristics of industrial trucks/loaders which make them impractical for personal or recreational use. First, the trucks shown in the patents listed above are dedicated to a single function, i.e., carrying a specific type of container. In the field of personal/recreational use, it would not be practical from a cost standpoint to develop, for example, a specific vehicle (truck) for carrying wave runners. A person might have to buy one truck for carrying wave runners, another truck for carrying snowmobiles and a third truck for carrying motorcycles. Thus, the dedicated function characteristic of the industrial load carrying trucks is not practical for personal or recreational applications.
A second limitation of the industrial trucks/loaders disclosed in the patents listed above, is that they are not safe enough to be used around or operated by untrained or unskilled persons of all ages. The industrial carrier/trucks employ hydraulics or other drive mechanisms which are completely exposed and operate off and above an upper surface of the truck bed. This feature may not be a problem in industrial uses where the persons operating the trucks are skilled adult laborers. However, in the personal and recreational fields, unskilled users and even children may be around the vehicle when cargo is being loaded or unloaded. Exposed hydraulics which project and extend upward from the truck bed or other similar drive mechanisms could pose a serious danger for such persons who are often in or around the home or recreational setting.
In the field of personal or recreational cargo carriers, pickup tracks are the most commonly used vehicle. Many have tried to develop cargo loaders and carriers which can be adapted for use on a conventional pickup truck. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,438 to Everson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,788 to Sutton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,191 to Alexander and U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,356 to Wrenn. The devices shown in these patents may be referred to as "pickup racks." Prior pickup racks have several fundamental problems. First, the racks are generally specific for carrying one type of cargo, for example, a boat, snowmobile or a wave runner. Second, the racks are often quite complex with many moving parts (for example, see the '438 patent to Everson). Thus, they are relatively complex to build, install and operate. Third, none of the prior pickup racks coordinate cargo loading and carrying with a separate mobile carrier assembly. Thus, prior pickup racks do not address the problem of how to move and store the cargo on land when the cargo is not loaded on the pickup truck.
Accordingly, an important objective of the present invention is to provide a carrier/rack which can be easily and securely mounted on and dismounted from the bed of a conventional pickup truck. Use of the carrier apparatus on a pickup truck should not permanently dedicate the pickup truck to a particular carrying function.
Another object of the invention is to provide a carrier apparatus which is flexible in that interchangeable rack portions can be used to accommodate different types of cargo, for example, including but not limited to recreational vehicles such as wave runners, snowmobiles, motorcycles and boats.
A further object of the invention is to provide a carrier apparatus which includes a mobile and detachable carrier assembly to permit movement and storage of the cargo when it is not being used or transported. Thus, the apparatus should provide the separable, mobile carrier advantage of a trailer without the disadvantages of a trailer relating to decreased maneuverability and safety.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a carrier apparatus which can be used safely in a recreational setting, i.e., drive mechanics are maintained within a chassis and a control mechanism is provided for operation remote from the vehicle.